Family planning, most effective way to reduce maternal mortality – NGO

Hajiya Hauwa Usman, Programme Coordinator, Pathfinder International on Wednesday, identified family planning as the most effective way to reduce maternal mortality.

Usman spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of a three days orientation workshop with National Level Media Partners on Advanced Family Planning (AFP) in Lafia.

She said that family planning advocacy was not targeted at discouraging women from having children, but to plan and space child birth.

“With child birth, which sometimes causes the death of the mother, we all know that family planning is the most effective way to reduce maternal mortality.

“When we say family planning, we are not saying that you should stop child birth, but opportunity for women and families to plan and space their children,” she said.

Usman, who regretted the failure of Nigeria to achieve the family planning commitment of 2020, expressed optimism that it would be achieved by 2030.

She explained that lack of funding and delay in release of funds were responsible for the failure in achieving 2020 target.

The Programme Coordinator, who described Advance Family Planning (AFP) as an advocacy-based project, said the essence of the workshop was to enable journalists have deeper understanding on family planning.

According to her, the advocacy project is targeted at decision makers, but ultimately the beneficiaries are  women and girls in the communities.

Usman reiterated the determination of Pathfinder International to continue to work in synergy with media organisations and civil Societies to achieve their goal.

“We are building capacity to advocate for family planning programme, these include funding for the programme, policies would better enable the programme as well as feasibility.

She, however, said that Nigeria was the sixth most populous nation in the world with 27 per cent Contraceptives Prevalence Rate (CPR) which made family planning uptake imperative.

NAN